Wei Jiaxian, an independent candidate for Hualien County Mayor. (Provided by Wei Jiaxian’s office)
Today is Teachers’ Day. Hualien County Mayor candidates Zhang Jun and Wei Jiaxian both signed to support the ten major educational demands put forward by the Hualien County Teachers Professional Union, the Hualien County Teachers Association and the Hualien County Education Industry Union. Zhang Jun promised to work hand in hand with teachers' groups to work together for education in Hualien, emphasizing that "to support teachers, we must face problems together and find solutions together." Independent candidate Wei Jiaxian and KMT candidate You Shuzhen also chose to put forward education proposals on Teachers' Day. The three parties launched policy battles on issues such as respecting teachers, reducing burdens, and retaining jobs in rural areas.
Zhang Jun said that supporting teachers cannot be just slogans, but must "face problems together and find solutions together." He summarized the ten major demands of the teacher group into five major aspects: including improving class size and teaching load, supplementing special education and psychological counseling manpower, establishing a mechanism to deal with students' disorderly behavior and teacher protection, reviewing education security benefits and comprehensive academic ability testing, as well as reducing repeated filling in and evaluation, and establishing a regular dialogue system between the county magistrate and front-line teachers.
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In response to the ten major demands, Zhang Jun simultaneously released the "White Paper on Educational Affirmative Policy". In response to the long-term problem of rural teachers in Hualien, he plans to improve the dormitories and retention conditions of rural teachers year by year. At the same time, he promotes school district alliances to share professional teachers and psychologists, and connect social affairs and health resources. In terms of caring for students, it plans to expand after-school care in rural areas, promote digital equality, and upgrade nutritious lunches. It also promises to implement improvement projects within its responsibilities immediately. Those involved in the central government will work together to make the funding open and transparent, hoping to create a Hualien where "teachers teach with peace of mind and children grow with peace of mind."
Candidate Wei Jiaxian, who also emphasized "front-line intimacy", emphasized that he was the only candidate who personally attended the teachers union's "appointment with the county magistrate candidate" meeting and signed the ten-point demand on the spot. Wei Jiaxian, who has a master's degree and has been the convenor of the parliamentary education group for a long time, pointed out from the perspective of a "double father" that reducing the teacher-student ratio, reviewing academic ability tests, protecting the right of tutors to go offline, promoting free nutritious lunches for teachers, and switching to a monthly salary system for special education assistants have been his consistent persistence for many years. If elected in the future, he will prioritize the promotion of the ten-point education reform so that education is no longer just an election slogan.
You Shuzhen, who is currently the mayor of Ji'an Township and has 33 years of experience in education, has three core propositions: "Support parents, respect teachers, and be with children." You Shuzhen proposed the "Teacher Stress Relief Support Plan", advocating the use of digital administrative systems to reduce unnecessary forms and repetitive tasks, and return time to the education site. In rural areas, they strive for central resources to promote transportation, accommodation and career support programs, and promote "one school, one characteristic" based on local characteristics to establish a complete teacher grievance and psychological support mechanism.
You Shuzhen, a Kuomintang candidate for Hualien County Magistrate. (You Shuzhen Facebook)
Zhang Jun, a non-party candidate for Hualien County Mayor. (Provided by Zhang Jun’s office)
